Transport and Works Minister, Dr Omar Davies, says he has asked the board of the Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI) to look into a report by the auditor general which calls into question the quality of training at the institution.

In a report tabled recently in the Parliament, the Auditor General, Pamela Munroe Ellis, noted that the CMI has been employing unqualified and inexperienced people to teach its students, in breach of international guidelines.

The CMI's executive director, Dr Fritz Pinnock, says the report contains wrong conclusions because the auditor general did not sufficiently understand the maritime education industry.

Meanwhile, the transport minister says Cabinet has approved the plan to elevate the CMI to university status.

It is to be known as the Caribbean Maritime University.

Dr Davies says the CMI is deserving of the university status because of what he says is the quality training and education being produced.

Transport and Works Minister, Dr Omar Davies

However, Dr Davies told The Gleaner/Power 106 News Centre last night that it will be another four to six months before the legislation is brought to Parliament for debate and approval.

He says the time will be used to develop a general policy on the granting of university status which is being undertaken by the education ministry.